


End of Innocence

by BladeboundOftheValley



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Mental Health Issues, Past Character Death, Suicide Attempt, non-canon deviations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 11:17:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10989834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BladeboundOftheValley/pseuds/BladeboundOftheValley
Summary: Nyara has gotten to a point where there is no meaning in life anymore. When she opened the letter from her grandfather, she found the chance to start over, start anew. But will her new friends be enough?





	1. Prologue

_Tell me do you remember_  
_The games and the laughter?_  
_Far from the choices we'd have to make_

**Middle of Winter 0**  
**Joja Corporate Offices**

Nyara stared at the computer screen blankly as she tried to process the daily memo from her supervisor, but nothing was getting through the now-familiar mental fog she found herself in. The summation of effects of the war on Joja profits just would not stick in her mind, never-mind the eye fatigue she was getting. She looked down at her hands and found them clenched into fists on her desk. She sighed and looked over at a picture frame on her desk, one of an old man and a young teen girl. A relic of simpler times, she thought sadly. It was much simpler at that age, only having to worry about school and ballet, and not her rent and this lingering feeling of emptiness. _Grandpa, why did you have to leave me?_

She felt her vision waver and felt the warmness of tears on her cheeks. For the past few years Nyara's hope in doing anything worthwhile in Zuzu City faded, especially after her grandfather's death. Her friends slipped away from her, and she hadn't noticed she had pushed them away in her mourning until it was too late. She had lost the motivation to continue in the ballet company, for it was her grandfather who encouraged her to dance. No more solos, no more gossip among the other dancers. Even the blisters and bleeding she missed. She only had her parents here, and even then she still felt alone. No use in looking for friends at Joja, most of the workers essentially were mindless zombies. And she was turning into one of them.

She heard the sound of something sliding open and she sighed, turning to catch one of the drawers of her desk as it slid open again. _Damn Joja for being cheap bastards._ Nyara started to turn her chair away as she shut it, when she glanced at something purple. She turned back to the drawer and started shifting through the loose papers, uncovering a simple envelope that had been half-buried under all her Joja official notices, the waxy purple seal untouched. She pulled it out, memories going through her of her grandfather's final days. Of how ill he had been, thin and sickly as he fought a losing battle with cancer. She hadn't been able to be there when he died, and only found out when a professor came to her after a class to give her the news. The last time she had made it home before he died, at the break for Feast of the Winter Star, he had given her the envelope, with specific instructions to not open it before she was ready. "You will find a time when you will be burdened with modern life. Only then will you be ready."

_You will find a time when you are burdened by modern life..._

She grabbed a simple letter opener off her desk and without hesitation slid it under the seal. Her vision still blurred by her tears, she slid one of two sheets of paper out of the envelope. She unfolded the yellowing paper and started to read, trying to hold herself together before a supervisor walked by.

_My dear Nyara,_

_If you are reading this, you must be in need of a dire change..._

***  
Nyara folded the letter up, stunned out of her tears. She had to read it a few more times, to make sure she wasn't in some sort of delusional state. _I've enclosed the deed to that place, my pride and joy, Haven Farm._  She quickly fished out the other sheet from the envelope and unfolded it. It indeed was a deed to a sizeable acreage of land in Stardew Valley, signed and sealed by who she assumed was the governor's secretary of the time. She tried to recall the valley, and couldn't remember much from her schooling. _I think one of the other soloists went to vacation there..._ She went back to the letter, scanning it once more. _Lewis. I need to get in contact with this Lewis._

"Reaver, why the hell aren't you working?" came a sleazy voice, and Nyara swore under her breath, turning to look at her supervisor, one Carl Wesley. The man frankly resembled a naked mole rat forced into an ill fitting suit, with dark beady eyes full of greed. She always hated the man, the way he tried to get close with the women and burden everyone with pointless tasks. The Nyara she had been turning into would have just apologized meekly and gotten back to work, but she now found herself standing up and looking into his eyes, startling him to the point of a nervous gulp.

"I am quitting."

She stood up and started gathering her things, leaving him sputtering in shock. As she stuffed her things into her satchel, his sputtering stopped, being replaced by a look of anger. "You can't quit!" His yelling caused people in the other cubicles to look over in surprise and curiosity.  
  
"I believe I just did." Nyara pushed past him and started making her way to the door, Carl following after her with more shouting. She tuned the shouting out, her mind now fixed on a singular goal, a final chance.


	2. New Year's Eve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may have uploaded two chapters in the same day because I already had this one on hand and I wanted to provide something to make up for the rather skimpy prologue. Going to keep it to at least one chapter every Wednesday, but two if I have them on hand.

_I pour myself onto this page_   
_I am writing a swan song for ages_

**New Year's Eve, Year 0**   
**Pelican Town**

Elliott trudged up the steps of Stardrop Saloon, cursing the melting snow on the ground which seemed to be attracted to his shoes like bits of iron to a magnet. _Going back through this mess and then the sand is going to be lovely,_ he grumbled mentally, not pleased at the thought of sand sticking to wet leather. Granted, that was the least of his worries, for it was another day of not getting anything constructive done. After a year of being here he still didn't have a book finished, and the next year will have a similar result. He had tried to go back to one of his attempts at a start of a story, but had simply thrown the manuscript at the wall after he had realized his attempts were in vain. As the afternoon faded into evening he had taken some of the gold earned from giving fish to Willy and made his way into town, at least figuring he could have a cold beer and some warm food to end the new year instead of frustration at what seemed to be continuing failure.  _I need to keep hoping for inspiration to come to me. Otherwise I will have nothing left._

Stomping his boots on the top step, he pulled the door open and let out warmth, light, and unusually exciting chatter going on within. He blinked at the sudden change of brightness from the dark evening to see Leah at the bar, waving him over excitedly. "Get in here before you let out all the warmth!"

He quickly stepped inside, making sure to close the heavy wooden door behind him, and made his way to the bar, having to push through what could be accurately be described as the vast majority of the town to reach the seat next to his friend. As he sat down he looked around, seeing that everyone seemed to be talking, though about what he couldn't tell. He looked to Leah as she passed him a lager, a smile on her face. "Any success yet?"

He sighed, taking a sip of the beer before saying anything. "Same as before, staring at a page with a few words before becoming irritated and tossing it away."

"So came here to end your first year here on a more positive note?" she asked knowingly, touching his shoulder when he nodded. "Don't worry, Elliott, you will finish that book."

"I have a feeling that my hair will have gone silver by then," he said with a laugh, though he was only partially joking. "The saloon seems to be unusually busy tonight."

"There is some exciting news," Leah said, taking a bite of what seemed to Elliot be a platter of roasted parsnips, passing the plate to him. He took one of the offered pieces, munching on it as she continued. "There is someone taking over old Haven Farm."

"Please tell me it's not Joja," he said sardonically, letting the irritation into his voice. The Joja Mart was in his opinion a massive eyesore, and there had been talk of Joja wanting to purchase the land from the old community center or the old farm in order to build another warehouse, something that the Mayor had been resistant on. He had been hoping that Lewis would hold out, but if Joja had gotten that farm...

"Thank Yoba no," she said hurriedly. Elliott gave a noticeable sigh of relief, which she noticed and returned with a smirk as she took another parsnip. "Turns out that the farm belonged to an old friend of Lewis, that passed a few years back. The reason why Joja has been unable to buy the place from him is because he did not have the deed."

Elliott took another sip of beer before saying anything, processing the information. "Well, from what I remember from my family law class, if the Mayor never had the deed that means the farm now belongs to whoever possesses the deed. Usually a family member." He looked over to where Lewis was sitting, which was easy to tell by the amount of people surrounding it as the Mayor was talking and even had the proprietor of the saloon over there listening. "Guessing from the fact the previous owner died a few years ago, it is easy to assume he was older by enough of a difference to have had adult grandchildren. So that means the current holder of the deed is a grandchild."

"Very good," Leah said as she took the last piece, then waved Emily over as she brought another plate of parsnips out, taking with from her with a quick thank you. She turned back to him, setting the plate between them. "You are correct, it is a granddaughter. Actually, I know this girl. Nyara Reaver. I went to high school with her back in Yuzu City, back when I started dating Kel." She said the name of her ex-girlfriend with a grimace, Elliott perfectly understanding why. Kel apparently viewed Leah's talent with art as a waste of time, parallel to what _his_ family back home felt about his writing.

He can already hear his mother's voice scolding him, and stopped himself before he frowned. I _n the past, Elliot. No delightful mother to hound on you._  "Nyara? Isn't that a Gotororian name?"

Leah nodded. "Immigrant family that had been here for a couple generations. I guess now it was her grandfather who came over the Gem Sea. Not surprised though."

Elliott nodded grimly. The suffering of the Empire's subjects was one of the many reasons why one of the provinces broke off, sparking the war. From what many of the returning soldiers said back when he was at law school, the atrocities committed by the Emperor and his government were many, to the point where many of them would not speak of it. _Though from what I did hear this only started with the ascension of the current Emperor, which was thirty years ago. Why would this grandfather been here earlier?_ This was a speculation he ventured to not share with Leah at this time, not in a crowded saloon. He decided instead to probe about the young women. "What do you remember of her?"

"Friendly, said hello to everyone," Leah said, picking up a bottle of what he recognized to be melon wine and poured it into a glass. "Our class got tickets to the ballet every year because of her."

"Ah, ballerina?" He smiled, pleased that someone with potentially artistic tastes would be the one moving here.

"She was, though I don't know if she still is. From my friends who knew her that I kept in touch with, she withdrew from everyone about four years ago. Halfway through college, and she was no longer in the ballet company," she said, a bit of sadness in her voice.

His mind was able to piece the rather obvious pieces of the puzzle together. "Her grandfather must have died around that time."

"I hope this is what she needs at this point," Leah stated, in a silent confirmation of his statement.

Elliott then had an unpleasant recollection, and moved to change the subject to that. "Doesn't that farm have a golem problem?"

"Supposedly," she stated with a shrug as she stood up. "I think the bigger problem is how overgrown the place is. She's going to have her work cut out for her to try to clear the trees and the rock."

He stood up as well, though he also took a napkin and swept the remaining parsnips onto it, wrapping the food up before placing it in his coat pocket. "When is she arriving?" he asked as he took some gold out and left it on the plate.

"Tomorrow," Leah answered. Elliott looked at her in surprise, which caused the artist to smirk. "Yes, Lewis knew since two weeks ago, as did Robin, and chose _now_  to tell everyone."

Elliot, with a mixture of both amusement and sympathy, knew that this Nyara was going to be the subject of everyone's curiosity for the next season or sort. Five hells, he knew from personal experience when he went through it himself that it would be a long while before the excitement would die down. And that was with him spending his time in his cottage most of the time; she would probably have to head to town frequently to sell her produce to Pierre, so she would be facing some of it more directly. "I hope they choose to not ambush her all at once, at least not for the first few days."  
  
"And when will  _we_ be ambushing her?" she asked as she walked with him to the door. "I think I can definitely introduced you two to each other. She is attrac-"  
  
"No," Elliot said firmly as he pushed the door open and they stepped out into the night. He let out a sigh, catching sight of his breath in the cold air. He started down the cobblestone path that led to the forest, Leah walking alongside him. "I told you, I don't need any diversions from my work. It would be best for that to wait until I have something of worth." He felt Leah take a deep breath, and waited for her to respond. No response came as they reached the end of the cobblestone road, and where the dirt path into the forest started. "I guess this is where we part ways, my good friend." Leah looked at him with a soft smile as he turned to leave, but something in her brown eyes caused him to hesitate. The closest thing he could think of when he saw that was concern.  _But... Why would she be concerned about me?_  
  
He  smiled at her, ignoring that thought momentarily, "Good night, my friend, and happy new year." He then turned and made his way to the beach, processing this night's turn of events. The revelation at there being an owner of that farm, to the look in Leah's eyes. He looked up at the stars, which seemed to shine brighter in anticipation of the new year. "Happy new year to you, Farmer Nyara."


	3. Chapter 3

First Day of Spring, Year 1

Nyara set her bag down next to the bed in her new home, and looked around at the one of two rooms that made up this cabin. _am really, really thankful that Ms. Robin added a tiny bathroom to this place, even if it's just a toilet and I have to bath in the pond. I really don't want to deal with spiders in an outhouse._  The room was pretty basic, there was a small old fashion T.V. that somehow was working all these years and fireplace that was probably going to be a welcome thing once winter arrived. According to her mother Stardew Valley could get cold to the point of heavy snow, even being by the Gem Sea. Granted, she did point out this place was far north in comparison to her native Gotoro. _Her exact words were that it was the_ one  _good thing about that place._  She was inclined to believe her mother, who was a more current immigrant versus her father being first generation born here.

This then was probably the first place where her grandfather had fled to when _he_ left the Gotoro Empire. No wonder he loved this farm. _And no wonder he built only a shack. Probably didn't have that much money left. He wasn't exactly able to take his wealth with him!_

She was concerned though that one of the windows had been boarded up, though she was given advanced warning as to why it was. Lewis had pulled her aside after Robin had left and warned her the farm had a pest issue. Well... more than a pest issue. _Golums and slimes. Kinda explains why Grandpa made me take those weaponry classes._ Though she did like them. Ballet gave her discipline in how to control her body, which made learning a bit easier. That being said, her arms still remembered the bruises. No worse than the dancing blisters though.

She shook her head, getting herself out of her woolgathering, and knelt down to unpack her bag. Once she could, she was going to send some money back to her mother for sending on ahead a new mattress and her bike. Mom deserved it. She pulled out some bed sheets and started working on making the bed, the legs shaking a little too much for her liking. Eventually she would have to fix that, when she had the money.

And of course, there was the way she was going to earn money. Farming. Which did make sense, this was a farm. The mayor had gifted her plenty of turnip seeds to get her started, because many of the townsfolk loved them and would buy them from the general store if she sold it to the owner. A win-win situation really. But first she would have to clear enough land because of how overgrown the farm had become. And then she would have to till the soil by hand and water everything by hand until she had enough money to repair the irrigation system. _And the Mayor wants me to meet everyone as well? By Yoba I'm going to be worn out every day._  There was one advantage to that; she would be too tired to dwell on her... unpleasant thoughts.  
  
She soon finished the bed and took two of the tools lined up on the wall, a pickaxe and a regular axe. She would wait to meet everyone until tomorrow afternoon. Right now, she was going to start her new life.

***

Nyara swung her leg off her motorcycle and used her foot to move the kickstand down, at the very edge of where the cobblestone road started. She didn't know if the Mayor would be upset if she rode it right into the town, so she left it right at the edge as she made her way into the town. _Don't want to piss off the people here when I am the new one. Besides, mufflers only do so much._ She checked her watch as she reached right where the buildings started. She figured since it was past noon people would be out and about. Robin had warned her that people were curious, so she figured that on her second day of being here it would be the perfect time to meet them. She kick a lump of dirty snow that had somehow made it to spring out of the way as she looked around. There were a few people out and about, some leisurely strolling, but there were two women off to side, both looking to be in their early- to mid-forties chatting.

_I used to be a people person, this should be easy._ Nyara straightened herself and made her way towards the women, who had stopped their conversation and looked at her with friendly smiles that made her relax. One of the women waved her over, the taller of the two with dark blonde hair in contrast to the shorter's green, and the farmer found herself somewhat eager when she got close. "You must be Nyara. I'm Jodi, welcome to Stardew Valley." Nyara smiled back, finding the woman's smile contagious.

"Thank you, Ms. Jodi-" she started to say, but the woman shook her head.

"Please, just call me Jodi. I have a son that's just a bit younger that you, so I do not want to feel old quite yet." The last was said in a genuinely joking tone, and Nyara felt herself laugh, feeling odd at that sensation. Laughter wasn't something she had in a long time.

She turned to look at the other woman, who also beamed at her. "I am Caroline. My husband Pierre runs the general store. I expect you will probably be needing a few things, so please come by. Or... Joja Mart is another option." Her smile seemed to falter, but went back to a smile when Nyara snorted.

"I came here to get away from my job at Joja. I will be keeping myself as far away as possible from anything Joja-related for as long as possible," she said, which sent both women into giggles.

"Well, if you need any help, just ask," Caroline assured her. "Take time to meet everyone. My daughter Abigail is the one with the purple hair."

"I will," she promise, "Thank you for your welcome." She turned and started walking away, and her hope rose just a little bit. _Hopefully the rest of the introductions go smoothly._

***

_I was mostly right_ , she thought as she pushed the door of the general store open and stepped back out into the mid-afternoon sun, holding a paper bag of full of potato seeds and another with a couple bottles of olive oil. She knelt down on the ground and opened up her new backpack, sticking both bags inside. She was about ready to head out, most of the introductions done. The vast majority of them went well, aside from one old grumpy man in a wheelchair, and a blonde with a bad case of swollen ego. _"In different clothes you'd actually look pretty..." Ugh. I'm really glad my issues with myself have nothing to do with my appearance._ A small blessing. At least her sister, Emily, was much nicer, if a little bit... odd.

"Nyara!" The sudden shout of her name with a voice that seemed to be one she remembered distantly caused her to look up as she was still kneeling on one knee. A woman with ginger hair tied in a braid was walking over quickly. The way with she moved, as if with a purpose, and the soft angles of her face and her kind brown eyes stirred at her memories. She stood, connecting a name to a face. "Leah Evans?"

The woman nodded with a smile. "So you do remember, probably vaguely."

"Yeah," Nyara admitted. "How long have you been here?"

"Been here since a year after graduation. Moved here after Kel and I broke up."

Nyara groaned. "That explains why she turned into a bitch sophmore year." She mainly knew that from rumor, but generally there was a bad taste in her circle when Kel came up. Something to do with telling people in certain majors to find real jobs.

"Not surprised. But at least you chose a good time of year to move here. Spring is wonderful here."

"That is very much true," Nyara said with a smile. "I will admit, it is so much nicer to not be bumping into hordes of people when you want to head anywhere."

"You are definitely not going to miss city life," Leah said. "It's a much tighter-knit community here. Speaking of which, have you met everyone?"

"I've met quite a few people so far."

"Have you met Elliot?" When Nyara shook her head, Leah smiled. "He's a good friend of mine, and he really doesn't come out to meet with very many people. I think having him talk to _someone_ new would be helpful to him." She grabbed Nyara's hand and started leading her to the south of town. Nyara followed after her in amusement, figuring that there wasn't harm in meeting one more person. She might as well do it now.

After a few minutes of being led, the two women soon approached a footbridge off in the distance. Nyara remembered the mayor mentioning a bridge to the beach, which did fit in with the location of this one. From a distance she could see someone at one of the walls of the bridge, but she wasn't able to make out details other than as Leah kept leading her along. Once they reached the stonework of the bridge, Leah slowed and Nyara was able to get a better look at the person. Based off of the shape of th red long coat, she deduced the person was a man, though he had long ginger hair that rivaled many girls that she knew. _Not me though. Still, most guys don't put in the effort._ His hair obstructed the view of his face as he looked into the water with his shoulders braced on the stone wall, not noticing them. Leah waved an arm to catch the man's attention. "Elliot!"

The man turned to face them, and Nyara caught her breath in surprise at the handsome face that looked back. _Oh fuck._

***

Elliot looked at the retreating figure of Nyara, Leah next to him as he watched the young farmer go, leaning back against the wall with his arms supporting him. He rather enjoyed the view of her walking away, the backpack swung over one shoulder, her long dark hair in a braid past her hips, and the very deliberate way in which she moved. Almost a form of visual poetry. Rather expected, her being a former dancer. The girl was definitely polite, friendly even, but she seemed a bit hesitant. There was also the very obvious fact she had been wearing a mask to hide any emotion beyond mild enjoyment. Oh, most people wouldn't have noticed, but Elliot tended to notice such things. Probably because he had to in order to write realistic characters.  
Once she was out of earshot, he looked over at Leah, who had turned towards him. "As much as I know this was a planned rendezvous you had concocted, I did find it pleasurable."

Leah looked at him innocently. "What do you mean? I happened to chance upon running into her." At his snort, Leah grinned. "At least would you enjoy her company as a friend? You need one."

"What makes you say that?" he asked in confusion. A stern expression graced Leah's face. "I know you've been isolating yourself in that cabin all winter. You need to get out and actually talk to people."

"Leah-" "Don't you 'Leah' me," she said in exasperation. "You only talk to me and Willy, sometimes Pierre. You don't socialize that much, so it wouldn't hurt you."

Elliot sighed, a hen-pecking part of him agreeing with Leah, even as the rest rebelled. "Maybe you are right."


	4. Golemn Problem

**_Two weeks later_ **

Nyara crumpled up the letter from Joja in her fist, making a small growl in her throat. She had checked her mail after checking up on the crops and watering them, one of the most tedious chores on the farm. There had been a few things, an advertisement from the general store, a package of cookies from her mother (oh, how glorious it would be to have something other than horseradish and leeks!), and a notice from Joja about them removing a landslide they had caused from a drilling operation. _Legitimate my ass. I've processed enough info from their operations to know that they are doing illegal things to rush the drilling, like using magically enhanced bombs._  Regardless there wasn't much she could do. Well, she could go punch the Joja representative, but that wasn't likely to get her anywhere.

_Though... was this the landslide that had been blocking part of the trail across the lake?_ She had been exploring a little bit and noticed that there had been rubble blocking her path at the lake near Robin's house, which she had deemed too dangerous to climb or go around. Robin had told her when she had inquired that past it was an old mine and the remnants of the Adventurer's Guild. The remnants being two older men who usually kept to themselves. But that mine... she had inquired about getting better tools, and the blacksmith had told her she needed to process ores into bars in order for him to make her new tools. If that old mine still had ore, then it would make her new life on the farm so much easier. Maybe she would be able to put in an irrigation system! _I_ _hate watering the crops so much..._

She went back into the house and set the watering can on the ground, then reached for the pickaxe and hooked it to the belt she used to carry her tools. Next to the wall where her tools were at was a table with a map on it, which she picked up. She glanced over it and folded it up, putting it in her pocket. There was a direct path north of her farm that would take her to Robin's house, and just past that would be where the mine was suppose to be at. She stepped out of the house once more, then set off through the forest of her farm to where the path was at, determined to get the ore she needed. Part of that determination was forced, to block out how she would like nothing more than to return to the cabin and not come back out...

***

She did not return from the mines until sunset, moving slowly through the pines on her farm, her speed hindered by the copper ore in her backpack that she was carrying in her hands and the bruises she had on her legs. "Goddamn slimes," she grumbled, stepping around a pile of rocks as the cabin came into sight. Twigs stuck to the ooze on her legs as she walked, slowing her down even more. She had only seen slimes in the zoos in Zuzu City, and had gone into the mines with the assumption that they were harmless. She had been so wrong, and had soon become grateful for the sword the old man had given her before she went down the first ladder, for the little suckers turned out to be very fast, almost as fast as a thrown baseball when they had jumped at her. The only way she was able to prevent that was to corner them up against the wall and slice them down so she could collect the copper in peace. So far they proved to be annoying, but not deadly.

Right at that moment she heard a clunking sound next to her feet, akin to the sound of rocks knocked against each other. Before she could look down to see what it was, she was suddenly yanked onto her back, knocking the breath out of her as her as her bag went flying. She quickly looked and saw in horror a humanoid creature rising out of the ground, holding her by the ankles. The creature seemed to be made of rock held together by tree roots, with two hollows in the rock presumed to be its head. She knew what it was, though she had only seen it in textbooks. _Golemn!_

The golemn started dragging her along the ground, and she could feel her skin being scraped by the rocky ground. She started struggling in a panic against its iron grip, fear driving any rational thought out of her head. Her struggles were in vain, as she realized with a dim thought it was dragging her towards the forest south of her farm. Her head was knocked against a rock as the golemn pulled its victim past the boundaries of the farm, and her vision went to black.

***

Elliot crumpled another piece of paper and dropped it into his satchel, grumbling in irritation. "Infernal writer's block," he said with a sigh, setting the notebook down next to him on the pier. He had decided to come write at the pond in the forest, figuring that a change of scenery would help with his lack of coherent ideas. Leah had joined him, whittling away at a piece of wood as they sat at the pier's edge, bare feet in the water, the electric lantern he had brought to cast some light in between them. She stopped and looked over at him in concern when he started grumbling. "Still no luck?" she asked.

"I think I have been cursed by some sorcerer," Elliot said flatly, only half in jest. "All of my ideas were wonderful in my head, but once I put my pencil to paper they turn out to be even less than half-baked stories, nothing with any inspiration."

"Inspiration will come to you, Elliot," Leah said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I believe in you." Elliot was about to say something when there came to be a grinding sound from a decent ways behind them, loud enough to cause the pair to jump. Elliot quickly scrambled up, tossing his notebook to the side, and grabbed the handle of his lantern, to see a figure dragging something along the ground. The lantern illuminated the scene, revealing the figure to be a golemn, slowly moving among the trees. The thing being dragged was, to his shock, the farmer girl, Nyara. She looked to be unconscious, her face and arms covered with scrapes, as the golemn dragged her along by her legs.

Without hesitation he broke into a run across the pier, the squeaking of the wood behind him indicating that Leah was following behind. The fact that the only possible weapons he was holding were the lantern and his pencil didn't register with him as he came upon the creature. Instinctively he jammed his pencil into one of the roots on the arm closest to him, one of the roots holding the golemn together. The pencil broke when it became embedded into the wood. The golemn seemed to be startled, stopping to drop one of Nyara's legs as it turned with an arm raised, about to strick the writer. Before it could Leah's knife whistled past Elliot's arm and struck a root in the golemn's chest, knocking it back. The golemn dropped Nyara's other leg and fell to the ground, the impact shattering into many pieces of stone. Elliot covered his face with his arms as the small rocks pelted him, hitting his arm instead of his head.

Once the dust had settled, he turned to see Leah helping up a now barely conscious Nyara, who looked at both of them with a dazed expression. "What...? What happened to the golemn?"

Elliot poked one of the rocks with his foot. "I would assume the creature has met its demise." He looked over at her in concern as she shakely stood on her own. "Are you alright?"

"Really banged up, but I guess I'm alright," Nyara said softly, looked at both of them. "I owe you two big time. I don't think I would be in a decent shape if you hadn't helped."

"It was nothing," Leah said with a smile, but Nyara quickly shook her head.

"I need to pay you guys back." She then looked thoughtful. "How about this? When my crops are ready for harvest I'll set some aside for you both. It's the least I can do."

"No, it's not necessary," Elliot said, but at that exact moment his stomach grumbled. "Well... maybe it is."

Nyara smirked, but swayed on her feet. Leah quickly steadied her, looking at Elliot as she put one of the farmer's arms across her shoulders. "I will take her back to the farm," she said as she started leading the girl away. "Goodnight Elliot."

Elliot watched as the two girls slowly walked off, then turned back and headed to the pier. Once he reached the end he knelt down and picked up his notebook, standing back up. /This was an eventful evening,/ he thought to himself, looking over his shoulder at the remains of the golemn. _Leah is not going to let this go. "You rescued her, you must be attracted to her!" You were the hero!"_ Granted, Nyara _was_  rather attractive, but as he told Leah several times that he needed to focus on his book, not on any sort of romantic liaison. _Leah was also the one who dealt the final blow. All I did was provide the convenient distraction. I was not the hero, Leah was._ In this instance he was just the sidekick.

As he headed back up the pier, he sighed. If he didn't finish his book he would not have such a liaison. He also would not have any money left, the more pressing issue.  _I'm going to finish it damnit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I swear I didn't notice the title rhyme until I had it typed) So I've been gone for a while. Sorry about that, I got a new job where I work six days a week. I will be able to get more chapters up over the next couple weeks because I had surgery and will be on leave for a month. I needed an explanation for why Nyara would go inside Elliot's cabin for the two heart event, which by the way will be the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

_A kiss on the lips_

_Turn the toad into a prince_

_And the end was a lifetime away..._

**_Two weeks later, one week until Egg Festival_**

Nyara stood outside the cabin on the beach, biting her lip nervously as she looked down at the basket in her hands. Inside was some of the bounty from her first harvest, a mixture of parsnips and potatoes, with a couple wild leeks thrown in and some more cookies her mother had sent. She already had delivered a similar basket to Leah, who had accepted the basket with glee. Frankly, her delivering the basket to Leah first was mostly because she was putting off going to see Elliot. Part of her wanted to stay far away, but part of her wanted to see the man again. They were most likely fueled by the same source of emotion in her. _Damn it, he's just a man. Handsome, yes. But he and Leah seem to be close, and I don't want to intrude on that._  Especially because of that last. She already lost her grandfather, it would be better for her to not have any expectations of any kind of romantic relationship.

She sighed, and her hand rose to knock on the door, which was cracked open. _Time to get a grip on myself,_  she thought as she lightly rapped on it. There was a moment of quiet, then a voice called out. "Come in!" The voice was definitely the baritone voice of Elliot, though he seemed distracted. Nyara pushed the door open, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

***

Elliot had been sitting at his desk scribbling out another sentence on the page in front of him, muttering to himself when he had heard the knock, causing him to put too much pressure on his pencil and broke the tip clean of. _Nine infernals, at least the last one broken was actually for a cause of good._  "Come in!" he called out, searching his disorganized desk for another pencil, assuming it was Leah bringing some greens for him. The door behind him gave an all-too familiar squeak as it was pushed open, but the steps into the cabin were nothing like Leah's. The woodworker's steps were normally heavy from the boots she wore and from marching through the forest; these footsteps were light and barely audible, implying that the person was light on their feet. He turned in his chair to see Nyara step from the door into the late afternoon light that was shining from the back window. Her features were illuminated by the golden light, giving her an appearance of godhood even with the worn band t-shirt she wore and the large picnic basket she had slung on one arm. _Appearance of godhood... an apt description that could be useful somewhere later._  He tucked the thought away, to possibly be used in his book later.

He stood and spread his arms in welcome. "Nyara! I was not expecting you. Welcome to my humble... well, shack." He said the last with a shrug of his shoulders, and was surprised to see her cover her mouth giggle. "What brings you here?"

Nyara seemed to collect herself rather quickly, and handed the basket to him, which he took and nearly dropped because of the unexpected weight. "I brought the food I promised you and Leah as payment for saving my ass," Nyara said with a slight smirk, the curse odd in her soft voice. However, something in her eyes nagged at Elliot, something that made him think the smirk was nothing more than a mask. "I also brought some of the homemade cookies my mother sent from the city," she added as he opened up the basket and rumaged through it, pulling out a bag of said cookies.

"Thank you, Nyara," he said, looking up at her with a smile, though the pestering feeling was still there. "Would I be imposing on you if I suggest you stay to talk? I don't often entertain guests here, except when Leah isn't creating her art." Completely true, though he was curious about the mask that she seemed to have a need for. _And... I probably am long overdue to have a moment of respite. Inspiration won't come to me if I force it._

Nyara hesitated, then nodded. He stepped aside and gestured to his now-vacant desk chair as he reached over and pulled his piano stool closer to the desk, sitting in it as Nyara took the chair. He opened the bag of cookies and took one out, handing it to her before taking one out for himself. "I usually don't leave here much," he admitted after taking a bite of the cookie, his mind in momentary bliss. "I spend most of my time writing there at that desk."

"You are a writer?" Nyara asked after nibbling on a cookie. There was curiosity in her voice, which surprised Elliot. Most only had scorn or pity in their voice when the topic of being a writer came up. Then again, she had come from a dancer background according to Leah. It probably made her more openminded.

He nodded. "For as long as I remember I wanted to be a writer. That's why I live out here by myself. I figured a solitary life by the Gem Sea would help me focus on my literary aspirations." He looked over at his desk, with the scattered sheets and pencils about on it. "Everyone back home mocked me." He then looked back up at her, feeling the passion in him rise, both from anger at those who doubted him and the feeling to prove them wrong. "Can you believe it? Their pessimism was sickening... 'for every single author there are a thousand who fail miserably.' " He said it with self-assurance, though a small part of him cringed at the possiblity.

He was about to look away, clenching a fist, but right before he could he saw a change in her eyes, from whatever had been pulling at him to a glimmer of hope. He quickly concealed his feeling of shock. "I can see it, in your eyes. You believe in me, Nyara. You have that spark."

"Why wouldn't I?" Nyara asked with that soft voice. "You seem to have the passion and the determination, Elliot. Both are things those successful authors have."

Elliot found himself grinning at her. "Now that is inspiring. The motivation I was looking for!" Nyara returned the grin, which made Elliot notice the stress lines in her brow. _S_ _he doesn't smile often enough._  "But enough about me. I have heard very little about you, and that little bit was from Leah. She professed that she hadn't seen you since high school and therefore did not have much to tell me."

Nyara relaxed in the chair, one arm slung over the back of it, which made him realize that this entire time she had been completely tensed up. "Not much to say," she said. "I was raised in the suburbs of Zuzu City by my parents and my grandfather." He noticed her voice had a note of sadness at the mention of her grandfather, but she continued before he could say anything about it. "He was a Gotoron immigrant, a politician who had fled here when the very first signs of corruption had started to spread. My father, his son, was born here, and my mother was one of the many who fled twenty-five years ago when things grew worse. I studied ballet up until I was twenty-one, then I..." There was a moment of hesitation, and Elliot was quick enough to line up that to approximately when her grandfather died. He did not say anything, just waited for her to continue. After that moment she coughed slightly. "I left the ballet company and graduated, getting a job at Joja."

Her face crinkled into a expression of disgust, which Elliot found amusing. Granted, the disgust was well-placed. "Safe to say you do not work for Joja anymore?"

Nyara nodded. "I quit when I found the deed to the farm, and moved here. To start over." That made Elliot have a moment of pondering, for there was a parallel to their stories. He was here to make a start, she was here to start over. Then an almost forced chuckled stirred him out of his thoughts. "And apparently to be swarmed by golemns on my farm."

"Have there been more of them?" Elliot asked quickly out of concern. Nyara waved the question off. "After getting my ass handed to me, I have been on guard against the others," she answered. "I can take care of myself against them now."

She then stood up, stretching herself out. Elliot rose from his seat. "I assume you must take your leave before the sun sets?" he asked, and found himself reluctant to see her go. He did enjoy having some company for one. Nyara nodded, then laughed. "As much as I can handle myself against the golemns, bats, and slimes, I would like to avoid them. Thank you for having me, Elliot."

As she turned to leave, Elliot suddenly thought of something. "Nyara, a question." She turned to look at him with a puzzled expression. "What genre of books do you like?"

"Umm... Sci-fi," she said after a moment.

Elliot felt a smirk on his face. "I would have never guessed! I supposed even those of the earthiest profession have their heads in the stars."

"More than you can realize," she said suddenly, before turning and quickly departing. Elliot stared after her in confusion. _"More than you can realize?" An odd thing to say._ Elliot turned back to his desk, already feeling an idea come into being in his mind.

It seemed like inspiration had come to him at last. And from an unlikely source.

***

Nyara sighed with relief as she reached the cobblestone streets of the town and her motorcycle. She took the helmet out of the basket in the back and quickly got it on, then swung a leg over the bike. As she started up the engine, her mind wandered to her visit with Elliot. _That last statement... very close to the mark there._  She kicked up the kickstand and revved the bike, riding back up the streets towards her farm. As she reached the dirt road leading to Haven Farm, she cursed herself for having such a stupid infatuation. She was twenty-three, for fuck's sake. This was not the time to be act like an awkward teenager around a cute boy, unable to say anything to her crush. Especially when it was someone you wouldn't be able to have.

And yet, that was exactly what was happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters may go up more quickly than expected. Also I am trying to make the length of the seasons more comparable to how long seasons are irl (so three months instead of ONE).

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, thank you if you made this far :D This chapter is quite short, I know, but this was meant to be a way to start things off, get a read of her mindset going in. Next chapter is Elliott's POV.  
> The title and the lyrics at the beginning are from Kamelot's song "End of Innocence." I will be using the song to frame out the story because I think it will fit in with the themes the story will touch on. I will be taking a non-canon direction at a point later on in the story, which you can probably guess what it is from the tags ^_^


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